Efforts to develop an HIV vaccine are benefiting from an enhanced awareness of protective immune mechanisms, newly emerging vaccine vectors and concepts and encouraging results from animal model studies and human clinical trials. Progress in these areas is viewed with cautious optimism as important questions are being asked about the relevance of certain animal models, the potency and breadth of immunity needed for efficacy and the most likely vaccine approaches to succeed. New information is accumulating at a rapid pace, owing in part to aggressive national and international vaccine initiatives. Now more than ever it is essential to bring scientists together frequently for open and objective discussions of recent findings. Our symposium, held in the spring, and the biennial NIH AIDS Vaccine Conference, held in the fall, are the only two major meetings devoted entirely to HIV vaccines in 2003. We have planned a 5-day conference that will cover a broad range of topics ranging from human clinical trials, nonhuman primate models and novel vaccine approaches, to ways to identify and overcome the virologic and immunologic barriers to a successful vaccine. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will benefit from an opportunity to present their data in a highly interactive forum, exposure to key scientific issues and stimulating discussion with knowledgeable investigators in a relaxed and informal setting. Our goal is to provide an attractive venue for scientists at all levels to share their recent findings, exchange ideas and foster new collaborations that will build on recent advancements and continue to make significant progress toward a safe and effective HIV vaccine. [unreadable] [unreadable]